Monday, March 9, 2009

I Made A Doggie

After I posted a picture on Facebook of my Scottie, my friend asked if I could make a Beagle. I went through my stash of patterns and a year later, I found a doggie one -- yes, it took me a year since I have so many due to my Hoarder's Disease -- and made this little guy.


His front feet look like flippers (I don't know what happened to the stuffing I shoved in them), his right eye is larger than his left, and my blanket stitching makes me think of Frankenstein but I still love him the same. And, really, could I iron my hankies before using them for pictures?

I confess the pattern came from that Portuguese blog that I swore I was never going to link to again because I think her posting practices are questionable. But the little dog was too cute and I couldn't help but print out the pattern. I did modify his face somewhat but I still feel guilty using that pattern.

The good news is I found a video with instructions on how to draw your own stuffed animal patterns, and I plan to give that a shot one day. I had been searching for a tutorial on attaching button eyes to a softie once it's stuffed -- I do mine beforehand and wasn't sure if that was right or not -- and instead found a very helpful video for embroidering the eyes & nose and that led to discovering a whole series of videos on making stuffed animals.

Did I ever mention The Toy Society? I heard about it from Kellie and thought it was such a great idea. It was started after a woman saw her artist friend leave his work in public places and she decided to do the same with handmade toys. The idea has spread worldwide and now more people are making and dropping off toys in their cities and towns. Now that I've made a few stuffed animals and know what not to do next time, I think I'm ready to make one for The Toy Society. And, now that I will soon be driving again, (I'm waiting for the insurance guy to call me back), I can drop it off somewhere in town.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aww, he's cute though.

Thanks for the video links, they will definitely come in handy.

<3!

Loralynn said...

He's cute! If he was "perfect" he wouldn't be like a real dog! None of us, canine or otherwise have perfectly matched features!

Jane said...

It all adds to his appeal, he's lovely

Muddlepud said...

He reminds me of a stuffed dog that used to live on a bed at my Grammy's house. It was a little worse for the wear after being loved by many children, but his imperfections made him even more ... well, perfect. So cute!

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

I like both your stuffed dogs. They're both cute as can be. And the whole Toy Society thing is fun. We've dropped three so far.

Anonymous said...

Awww he's cute! Thanks for the links, I'm just starting to get into toy making. I got tired of my wonky embroidered faces so I cheated and bought some safety eyes.

Threeundertwo said...

I think in real life, faces are supposed to have some asymmetry.

He needs a name I think.

Thanks for the links!

Unknown said...

I think he's wicked cute! And I love the Toy Project!

Mary said...

He's so cute!!! These dogs are coming out awesome!!!
Hugs!
Mary

Busym1 said...

He's so cute ! I love dogs! I have a mini dash, and would love to make one that looks like her! Thanks for sharing him! (((hugs)))

Anonymous said...

He's the sweetest little doggie. You're very talented..and I love your sense of humor. Reading your blog sometimes has me laughing out loud.
Now, I'm going to see how to turn an embroidered piece into a needlecase. Needlecases are another of my favorite things.

Kellie said...

He is so flippin' cute, Patty!!! I'm glad you posted the video instructions. I have been in a major sewing/crafting/moving off my butt slump for a week now and maybe those videos will pull me out of this creative slump!

Sandi Linn Andersen said...

What a cute little doggie! I was just getting ready to sign off the computer for the night when I noticed you added your name to my tea blog. Welcome!! I will be back to read more of your blog. I loved the hamster post. I will have to share the story of how my daughter spun the tail right of her gerbil. Yep, that's the truth! My son had Siberian Dwarf hamsters and boy, can they multiply! Going to add you to my favorites list.........

Anonymous said...

It's weird you mentioned the Toy Society because I saw something on a bench this weekend and thought it might be from someone who decided to join, but it was just an ad.
It's such a good idea.